Water heater



April 23, 3 E. G. SCHNEPP 1,802,578

WATER HEATER Filed Sept. 15. 1927 VVE/ 7"0/ r- 42 J'afl/VEPA Patented Apr. 28, 1931 UNITED STATES EMIL SCHNEPP, OF SAN DIEGO, CALIFORNIA WATER HEATER Application filed September 15, 1927. Serial No. 219,649.

My invention relates to a water heater of the type generally used for domestic purposes and in which the water is contalned within an upright tank, and the heat being supplied by means of a gas or liquid hydrocarbon burner arranged below, the boiler.

The principal objects of my invention are to generally improve upon and simplify the existing forms of household water heaters to provide for the restricted flow of a relatively small portion of the water in a substantially spiral path around the periphery of the boiler from the lower end to the top thereof, while the heater is in operation, which provision brings about a transference of practically all the heat units that are developed by the burner to the water that circulates through the tank.

Further to provide simple and efiicient means for bathing or restricting the flow of heated air and products of combustion around the external wall of the boiler so as to more effectively bring about the trans ference of heat to the water within the boiler,

and further to provide a water heater that is characterized by simplicity of construction, low cost of manufacture, minimum fuel consumption and rapidity of operation.

With the foregoing and other objects in View, my invention consists in certain novel features of construction and arrangement of parts that will hereinafter be more fully described and claimed and illustrated in. the ac- .j "companying drawing, in which Fig. 1 is a vertical section taken lengthwise through the center of a water heater of my improved construction.

Fig. 2 is an elevational view of the shell that is positioned within the boiler, and which occupies a position adjacent to the upright wall of said boiler.

Referring by numerals to the accompanying drawings, 10 designates an ordinary upright cylindrical tank provided at both ends with heads 11, and which tank occupies an upright position within an outer shell or body preferably composed of a pair of spaced walls 12, and the chamber or space between said last mentioned walls is packed with suitable heat insulating material such as asbestos or a composition of which asbestos is one of the principal ingredients.

Arranged beneath the tank is a suitable burner 13 that is supplied with either gaseous or liquid hydrocarbon fuel through a supply pipe 14. and located in the latter is a standard form of thermostat 15 that is controlled by the heat developed within the tank, and which in turn controls the flow of fuel to the burner.

A water supply pipe 16 is connected to the lower portion of the tank 10, and leading from the upper portion of said tank is a pipe 17 that conveys the heated water to the point or points of use.

A relatively narrow annular space 18 is formed between the inner one of the walls 12 and the cylindrical wall of the tank 10 which space communicates with the chamber beneath the tank that is occupied by the burner 13, and thus during operation of the heater heated air and products of combustion pass from the burner upwardly through this narrow chamber 18.

In order to bathe or restrict the upward flow of the heated air and products of combustion through the annular space 18 the inner one of the walls 12 of the jacket that surrounds the tank 10 is provided with circumferentially arranged ribs or corrugations, and which latter tend to deflect the 30 heated air and products of combustion toward the cylindrical wall of tank 10. The

heated air and products of combustion are discharged from the upper end of the heater through a suitable vent pipe 19. concentrically arranged within the tank 10 is a cylindrical shell 20 preferably formed of sheet metal open at both ends, and the eX- ternal diameter of which is but an inch or two less than the internal diameter of the cylindrical wall. of tank 10, and the wall of said shell 20 has pressed therein a spirally disposed rib or corrugation 21 that extends the entire length of said shell. Formed through the lower portion of the wall of shell 20 is a plurality of apertures 22. When shell 20 is positioned within the tank its open lower end rests on the lower one of the heads 11, and the open upper end of said shell terminates a short distance below the upper one of the heads 11.

The crown or apex of the spiral rib or corrugation 21 bears directly against the inner surface of the cylindrical wall of tank 10, and said shell 20 may be secured to the wall of the tank in any suitable manner.

In practice, I prefer to insert shell 20 into the tank before the parts are galvanized or coated with metal, and in the galvanizing or coating process the shell and tank will be practically soldered together by the galvanizing or coating metal.

The arrangement of the shell 20 within the tank provides a relatively narrow or restricted spirally disposed water flow duct 23 between the walls of said shell and tank and which duct extends from the lower portion of the tank to the top thereof.

Water enters the tank through supply pipe 16 and fills the entire space therein, and which water is free to circulate from the chamber within the shell 20 through the apertures 22 that communicate with the lower end of the spirally disposed duct 23.

While my improved heater is in use the heated air and products of combustion from burner 13 pass upward through the narrow annular space 18, and the inner one of the walls 12 of the jacket being corrugated tends to restrict or bafiie the upward flow ofthe heated air and products of combustion with the result that the heat is held in said narrow annular space until it is practically all absorbed by the cylindrical wall of the tank and the water flowing upwardly through duct 23. It will be understood that the annular space 18 entirely surrounds the c lin drical wall of the tank and thus a relatlvely large heating area for the tank is provided.

The relatively narrow or thin body of water contained within the spirally disposed duct 23 will very rapidly absorb heat through wall 10 of the tank, and as a result a flow of heated water is established upwardlythrough the duct 23, and this water heated to a comparatively high degree of temperature will discharge into the upper end of the tank from whence it may be drawn oif through outlet pipe 17 as desired.

Thus it will be seen that I have provided a water heater wherein the heat is applied to the outer surface of the wall of a tank and the water chamber within said tank having a relatively narrow or restricted spirally disposed water flow duct arranged immediately inside the wall of the tank to which the heat is applied, thereby providing a maximum degree of heating area and insuring the absorption of practically all of the heat units that would otherwise pass over the surface of the tank by the water that occupies the spirally disposed duct.

A water heater of my improved construction is comparatively simple, is inexpensive of manufacture, is economical in operation and very effective in performing its intended functions.

It will be readily understood that minor changes in the size, form and construction of the various parts of my improved water heater may be made and substituted for those herein shown and described without departing from the spirit of my invention, the scope of which is set forth in the appended claim.

I claim as my invention In a water heater, an upright cylindrical tank having closed ends, a water connection leading to the lower portion of said tank, an outlet for heated water at the top of said tank, a shell concentrically arranged within said tank, said shell having pressed therein a spirally disposed rib that bears against the inner surface of the wall of the shell to provide a restricted spirally arranged water flow duct that extends from the lower portion of the tank to the upper portion thereof, the ends of which duct have direct communication with the ends of the chamber within the tank and a corrugated wall spaced apart from and surrounding said tank.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature.

EMIL G. SCHNEPP.

III 

